Mauston Pumpkin Bash Features Classic Wisconsin Fall Festival

Along the Banks of the Scenic Lemonweir River

This year’s Mauston Pumpkin Bash will deliver the family fun of one of Wisconsin’s classic small town fall festivals while showcasing the city’s dramatic downtown makeover. Mauston is situated just 20 miles north of Wisconsin Dells and exactly halfway between Chicago and Minneapolis on Interstate 90-94.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, Mauston’s Riverside Park will be teaming all day with activities for everyone, including the signature pumpkin bashing competition in which teams of students compete with their unique devices for launching and smashing pumpkin. A smash out cancer event features an orange-painted vehicle that participants can bash with a sledgehammer for a dollar a swing. Donations from both events benefit charities.

At 5:30 p.m., the George Braund Memorial will be unveiled next to the band shelter, honoring the long-time school bus driver and owner of the Busy Bee Café, who died at 92 in 2013. A video tribute to Braund, a local icon of good will and community involvement, and a donations-accepted pancake supper will be part of the dedication.

Downtown Mauston’s Transformation

This year’s Pumpkin Bash also will showcase the dramatic developments that continue to transform the heart of Mauston, including a multi-year river walk project on both sides of the Lemonweir River, a just-completed pedestrian bridge over the river, a major makeover of Riverside Park and a soon-to-open ShopKo store.

Other improvements completed in the first two phases of the project include improved boat launch and parking facilities, a band shell and fishing pier, upgraded playground equipment in Riverside Park and the rehab of Mansion Street. The third and final phase of the project will be a further extension of the river walk project on the north side of the river.

The first two phase of the project have cost $4.2 million with $1.5 million in grants and the remainder supported by growth in tax revenues from improvements such as the ShopKo store.

“We think that residents and visitors to Pumpkin Bash will be impressed by the transformation that is taking place in the heart of our downtown district,” said Nathan Thiel, city administrator. “Projects like the river walk and the pedestrian bridge not only give us a beautiful and accessible recreational space but also hold the potential to put us on the map for biking recreation in Wisconsin by networking us into the Sparta-Elroy and other regional trails.”